# Help Me with Health Insurance **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451 "2014-12-05T22:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/21 "2014-12-07T05:50:32Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > When I browsed the marketplace they had catastrophic plans that were cheaper than the bronze plans. I found one for about $200 per month. Is catastrophic coverage an option for you? Those are only for those between 27 and 30 so I would doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![sara20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@sara20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sara20)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/22 "2014-12-07T09:12:42Z")
> [@jebert](#): > > I am not employed, not eligible for Medicare and don’t qualify for an ACA subsidy. I am in good health. Last year I paid about $200/mo for a high deductible policy that basically protected me from any huge medical expenses but didn’t pay much for routine care. This year they want $500/mo to renew that policy. The cheapest thing I’ve found on the exchanges or open market is about $365/mo. > > I have found some short-term (6 month) policies for less than $200, but apparently they don’t qualify in some way (that I don’t understand) and I’d have to pay the penalty. > > Can anyone point me to some affordable healthcare? All I really want is something that would cap my out of pocket expenses and protect me if I should develop a costly condition. What is your copay for a doctors visit or prescriptions? ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/23 "2014-12-07T15:03:47Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > My increase was not quite as extreme but it did go up significantly. > > However, it was not the same policy and I strongly doubt that yours would be either. Post ACA, it was impossible for insurance companies to get away with many of the limitations in the older policies. Just as one example, lifetime caps on benefits were universal and are now prohibited. Perhaps, the plans were a bit different, but still the same $10,000 deductible. I remember Wesley Clark on SD that keeps up with a quite a bit of this, and IIRC, he said the age of about upper fifties is when the health insurance plans start to rise quite a bit. Don’t know if that is what got me or not. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/24 "2014-12-07T15:45:26Z")
> [@razncain](#): > > I remember Wesley Clark on SD that keeps up with a quite a bit of this, and IIRC, he said the age of about upper fifties is when the health insurance plans start to rise quite a bit. Don’t know if that is what got me or not. That is correct. I am looking at the monthly premium for my wife’s high deductible plan. Premiums by age for a $5250 bronze plan are: 25 - $184 30 - $208 +24 35 - $224 +16 40 - $234 +10 45 - $264 +30 50 - $327 +63 55 - $408 +81 60 - $497 +89 64 - $549 +52 Factor in medical inflation and the numbers will look even worse… ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/25 "2014-12-07T16:07:34Z")
Well, crap my britches, I’m more screwed than I thought! :mad: :eek: Wow, I just got back from [healthcare.gov](http://healthcare.gov) site. I found 23 other plans to pick from Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The three cheapest plans I found for me, at age 56, male, non-smoker, individual, in my zip code was this for Blue Cross and Blue Shield: Bronze HMO 006 plan $771 a month with estimated $12,700 deductible, and estimated out of pocket of $12,700. Bronze HMO 005 plan $809 a month with estimated $12,700 deductible, and estimated out of pocket expense $13,200. The Silver HMO 003 plan $1,008 a month, with estimated 12,700 deductible and estimated out of pocket expense $12,700. Their Assurant Platinum 002 plan, which was their highest was, $2,226.00. For deductible, it said see plan brochure which I did not do. For estimated out of pocket expense, $4,000. I see now what they are doing to me, but I don’t recall my home agent asking me my yearly income, maybe he did, but just don’t remember it. On this site it does ask you. Out of curiosity, I lowered my income by $13k on the site to see what difference it may have made. It made a huge difference. This is what it quoted me: Bronze HMO 006 plan $385 a month with $6,000 deductible, and $6,000 out of pocket expense for their very cheapest plan. Basically all of the plans got cut about in half. All of this is insane. If I wasn’t taking care of an elderly parent right now, I would sell my biz and already be in Costa Rica. I’m six years away from SS, so will just continue to pay the tax penalty I guess until I can leave and have a monthly income coming in. America is not kind to its elderly, and is no place to retire to. Of course, we knew this already. ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/26 "2014-12-07T16:19:58Z")
^^^ Disregard the higher figures. Must have been a glitch for the higher figures. I’ve been trying various income figures, and it’s coming up the same for now, but wasn’t then. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/27 "2014-12-07T18:49:45Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > That is correct. I am looking at the monthly premium for my wife’s high deductible plan. Premiums by age for a $5250 bronze plan are: > > 25 - $184 > 30 - $208 +24 > 35 - $224 +16 > 40 - $234 +10 > 45 - $264 +30 > 50 - $327 +63 > 55 - $408 +81 > 60 - $497 +89 > 64 - $549 +52 > > Factor in medical inflation and the numbers will look even worse… For what it’s worth, comparing it to an employer plan, the prices look similar. I’m 44 years old, and it looks like the total monthly premium paid (that is, what I pay + what my employer pays) is about $350/month. That’s a high-deductible plan with a $2500 deductible. Health care is just expensive. It sucks. The ACA is a step in the right direction in that it makes it so that everyone who wants it can actually buy insurance, but prices are pretty ridiculous from what I’ve heard. Of course, employer plans don’t change depending on age (at least, the employee portion doesn’t; I assume the employer part doesn’t either but I don’t know for sure.) So they’re paying more than the above for the younger folks, and less for the older folks. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/28 "2014-12-07T19:04:57Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Wow, someone on the internet assumed something. News at 11. Your insurance expertise notwithstanding, high deductibles absolutely exist. Not at the company I work for, the one of the largest ones in my state. We stopped offering plans that had deducitbles more than the $6350 allowed by ACA, and we stopped offering policies (except for short term policies that excluded maternity, substance abuse, preventive care. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451/29 "2014-12-07T19:14:08Z")
There is a specific, official meaning to “High Deductible”, which is $1300/$2600. But “Catastrophic” AFIAK doens’t have an official meaning; our $10,000 deductible plans with no substance abuse, preventive, or maternity used to sell like hotcakes to young healthy professionals before we stopped offering them are what I’d term “catastrophic”. So I guess I was thinking about “catastrophic” plans not being offered, not “high deductible”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-health-insurance/706451.md?page=1)